more random thoughts

A couple of tuesdays ago, the state of Massachusetts picked a new senator, a republican of all things to fill the vacated seat of the late Ted Kennedy. That didn't surprise me so much, with my belief that people most everywhere are pragmatists rather than ideologues.

What did surprise me was the sudden collapse of the universal health care bill in the Senate. I wondered then, and now, why it did not go forward for debate and a vote, and (probably) some negotiation and compromise on some of the more volatile provisions. I mean, why did it suddenly die with the loss of the allegedly bulletproof, fillibuster-proof majority in that particular chamber?

Was the bill so fragile that it could withstand no examination, debate or compromise? Or was it a bad bill that was simply the best that the lobbyists could come up with on such short notice? Then we have the new Senator. Apparently, Senator-elect Brown has requested that the governor and secretary of state certify his election before 11:00AM tomorrow, (that's Feb 4), so he can be sworn in tomorrow afternoon.

I dunno, maybe the Senate is giving themselves a raise or something, or maybe he has a new cape and tights, and he is going to save us from the 58 Democratic votes.

Just wonderin'.

Then there is the issue of the late McCain-Feingold bill limiting soft money in national political races. The Supreme Court struck down a narrow provision of that bill but the ramifications are a doozie. When I heard the decision, my first thought was that Dubya was grinning his ass off at home in Texas, (and he probably was, deep thinker that he is), and I was angered about it, but as the week passed, and I thought about it, and read some of the background of this case, I think that the court did the right thing. The decision prevented the suppression of free speech, (pretty crummy speech, but that really doesn't make a difference); simply on the basis of who financed it.

Like I said, I am not happy that the financing of campaigns is again up for sale, (but I suspect that the law was merely a speed bump instead of a barrier), but had the example before the court been a video say, exalting a liberal candidate, financed by the various screamers on the left, the dissent would surely have travelled across the aisle to the right, and that, is a pretty good intuitive, if not factual, indicator of the bullshit factor.

Not that I think anyone is paying attention, but I call on some of the big thinkers of the Senate, (that's you, Senator's McCain & Feingold), to revisit this, and pass a law that will pass court scrutiny and achieve this laudable goal.

So, how is everybody doing?